


Midwinter Café

by Lumissa



Category: Original Work
Genre: BoyxBoy, Café, Drama, Gay, LGBT, M/M, Romance, Slash, black coffee, m/m - Freeform, tinder dates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-18 16:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9392693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumissa/pseuds/Lumissa
Summary: Because of his best friend Jackson and his own bad alcohol tolerance, Finn was stuck with a Tinder profile, ten awful dates and a looming shadow of slavery for the said best friend if he lost their bet. But thank heavens there was one person at his favorite café that seemed to keep him sane - and in coffee.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody and welcome to Midwinter Café! My name's Lumissa and I'm here to present you a romantic boyxboy story that almost remained drama-free. But don't worry, there's only some drama, a little bit of bad self-confidence and lots of awkward writing. I decided to write this in a heat of a moment when I suddenly got this idea of bad tinder dates and a cliche cafe romance so don't expect any kind of mind-blowing plot or world changing romance. I did this for fun and I hope you have some fun too while reading my little scribble.
> 
> I'm going to update this every Thursday of Friday, depending on how busy I am. I'm a Uni student so please bare with me and my shitty schedule. Well then, guess that was it. Now go and be free my child! I'll be waiting at the end of the chapter.

"Oh? Really? I-I'm surprised."

When the familiar words were stuttered out, I felt my mood dropping down like snow did outside. It hit the floor. Hard. What a surprise indeed... I smiled thinly, sighing inwardly. "Why is that?"

The guy opposite me looked down awkwardly and I contemplated whether or not I should simply stand up and leave the buzzing café or just play it nice. I decided to do what I always ended up doing; feeling fed up with the assumptions people seemed to have about me from the first glance – then acting all shocked because I wasn't what they imagined me to be – and then finally acting polite while laughing it off like their words didn't make me frustrated. Had this been the first time people thought I was a sweet boy with a taste for classical music I would have just laughed it off. Instead this must have been the hundredth time some stranger I was having a date with showed how disappointed they were because under my quiet facade I was actually a rash guy with pretty guy-ish interests.

Well, sorry for being such a normal man in the end. Jesus.

"Well, I would have never thought you liked such... violent games."

Yeah? And liking apocalyptic zombie survival games made me somehow different?

Instead of saying that I laughed again. Forcefully. If the guy – who looked pretty average himself, mind you – noticed how his comment had ruined even that little mood they had had then he didn't show it. Instead he started to look around and I knew instantly what he was doing.

It looked like this date was another failure. I hated Jackson for what he made me do. That jerk had forced me do Tinder profile and then told me that if I didn't find someone through it I would be as good as a lost case.

I hated him with passion.

And I was done too. Like the guy – I remembered his name but childishly decided inside my mind that I wouldn't even think about it – had any right to look like he'd been disappointed. I had been to freaking three dates before this and with what consequences?

First one had been even more of a disaster than the current one. The first guy had only talked about himself nonstop and when I'd finally grown enough backbone to make up some excuse to get out of the situation his phone had blared up, blinking on the table. For me to see the caller too. What kind of idiot left their phone on the table for their date to see if they had a girlfriend at home? At least the guy had had enough shame to turn beat red and dash out of the café with a mumbled excuse. Thank god he hadn't tried to contact me afterwards.

The second date was with a girl couple of years older than me. I didn't usually go on dates with girls but this one had seemed nice enough. Yeah, seemed. It turned out that she'd lied about her interests just to get a date with me, then turned the conversation to sex every time I tried to talk about games, ice hockey or rock music. Well, I had learned something on that date, though. Like how tackling the other guy against the side of skating rink could be seen as rough sex – sue me but I could only think about all the fallen teeth that the players lost pretty often due the said act – and how you could use controller's vibration to... well, yeah. Thanks to her gaming was never same... ever again.

The third one had been just yesterday and I wondered if I was nuts for going for the fourth one right away after such a blatant creeper. To think I'd actually thought it was going so well and liked the guy. He'd told funny jokes, been polite and listened to my opinions. And then, then he'd taken his front false teeth off, put them into a water glass next to his coffee and after seeing my horrified stare asked if I wanted to try them on since they were after all his late grandmother's precious heirloom.

It was the first time I'd ever left before my date.

The guy'd tried to call me couple of times after it. Of course I ignored all of the calls. Because, excuse my gruesome language, _what the actual fuck_.

Maybe because of all this my mouth spoke before my brain had time to tell me off. I felt like banging my head against the table anyway and just forget I even had this freaking dating site profile I was forced to use.

"What kind of games should I play then?" If my voice was bitter then it was completely his own fault for making such unfair assumptions of my personality.

I ignored the side of me that always piped up after I said something not so nice. Sometimes it sucked to be a people-pleaser because it was hard to also own a mouth without filter at the same time.

"Oh, no, no! Those are good games, Finn. It's just..." Dark eyes flashed with panic. I leaned my chin against my palm and thought about how to tell my best friend to go have a nice last night together with his hand because soon he'd find himself castrated.

"J-Just thought you'd play something less... extreme."

"Like... Sims or something?" I quirked my brow. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Sims but people always thought they were the only games I played because outside I looked mostly like a quiet and sweet guy with a good fashion sense, easily smiling lips and overly polite attitude.

Some people said I was too nice.

Those people didn't know, though, that being nice to others wasn't same as being a pushover. They could think whatever the hell they wanted then because it seemed like everyone was happily assuming that what they saw was what I actually was and then act all shocked and confused when what they thought about me without even trying to find out more wasn't true after all.

It was so nice to be a disappointment.

I made sure my smile didn't reach my eyes when the guy agreed with me.

Did every guy on the face of Earth want a nice and proper man without interest in bloody things?

A cup was placed with a loud clang in front of me. I stared at the steaming black coffee for a second before following the hand that was holding it. I met a pair of green eyes, wide but polite smile and a mess of blond hair and I remembered seeing him around before. The waiter stared at me with nothing but his best customer service smile while patting down the wrinkles from his apron.

"Uh." I moved my eyes to the coffee I had not ordered. Yet, the guy wasn't even questioning it. "Sorry, but I think you got the table wrong."

The guy who seemed maybe a little younger than me didn't even bat an eye as he answered with a smooth voice, "Nope, I don't think I see any other young, handsome men with auburn hair, freckles and a black button-up shirt." He let go of the cup. "Or do you?"

I blinked, not sure what to answer. The description was me, alright, but what? I glanced at my date to see if he knew what was going on but he seemed just as confused as I did. Actually he looked at me like I'd ordered the drink magically without leaving the table because I had definitely stayed with the guy through the whole painful hour. Oh my god, had it seriously been an hour?

I shook my head to the expectant waiter. Only to find him already heading back to the counter with confident steps. "H-Hey!" The guy didn't even turn, striding straight to the door that probably led to the backroom. I sat back after thinking about going after the guy but what could I have done anyway. I stared at the steaming hot drink that I definitely needed. But technically it wasn't even mine even if the guy had brought it to me...

Whatever, I had earned it after such a horrible week.

When the strong substance passed my lips filling my mouth with a dreamy taste I hummed out loud. Bless coffee, the godly drink from heavens. My mind filled with warm thoughts right after feeling the scalding hot flow down my throat. A relationship would never bring me such a pleasure.

I opened my eyes – I had no idea when I had even closed them – and laid them on the man who was putting on his coat. Well, whatever, I had my coffee.

"Um, it was nice, you know," the man said with the most painful smile I'd ever seen. Hadn't I had a chance to take a calming sip of my personal heaven I think I would have felt at least a little bit devastated. Because apparently I was neither dating material nor a desired companion. I took a bigger sip and let my mind disappear into a coffee haze.

"Sure, nice."

The guy grimaced again. What had I even done to him? It wasn't like it was my fault he thought stupid things.

Right?

I hadn't even lied about my hobbies in my bio.

"Y-You can text me if you want, or something..." Sure, text you because that was exactly what I wanted; to make myself look like a desperate fool who tried to get the guy's attention when he was so clearly not interested. Sure, buddy, just expect my message, will you?

With the last avoided look and a half-hearted wave he finally disappeared to the darkened streets of the city.

I sighed heavily, leaning back and deciding to just stay there for a while. I had nowhere to go, no one to wait for me and now I didn't even have a best friend anymore. It was just like my luck that that one night when I tipped couple of drinks more than usually I ended up giving in to Jackson's insisting about how great Tinder was to find life-long partners. It was all his fault. He should have known better than to agree with my drunken self that I needed a partner and that I was so lonely and that nobody wanted me.

Thus, we had some kind of bet going on, both of us, that we had to go to at least ten Tinder dates until one of us found a partner and would win. A loser would be not only single but also a very miserable servant for the other for a month. And knowing Jackson he'd only rub his relationship into my face while making me his errand boy to make their dates perfect, romantic and absolutely worth my jealousy. Well, in that case he could forget that romantic part because despite my appearance I wasn't big for romance. All I needed from my partner was a nice night at home filled with laughter, good match of hockey from TV, some making out and a lot of junk food.

See, no wonder every guy turned out to find me so unromantic and not interesting. I looked like a freaking Romeo but acted like every boring straight guy there was.

The quiet buzzling of the café lulled me into a slumber but a loud crash from somewhere pushed me out of my own sleepy thoughts. I rubbed my eyes and drank the last, now cold, mouthful of coffee. Grimacing, I tried to hold in a shiver. Cold coffee was definitely different case from hot coffee.

The taste lingered in my mouth bitter and I tried to swallow it away. I watched as cars passed the window and lights of the shops shone brightly over the passing walkers. Dirty snow lined the busy street, sucking in the only lights there were left in the dead of the winter. Even the outside matched my mood right now. I threw a deep red scarf over my neck and was ready to face the biting cold when I couldn't stop my eyes from lingering to the coffee mug.

Guilt tucked my chest. I hadn't exactly asked for the drink and the waiter guy hadn't even stayed to charge me for it but... it felt like stealing. Especially when I hadn't really tried to stop the waiter, being too tired with my personal problems.

But I hadn't even ordered it.

I took a step towards the door, groaned and spun back to the cashier. Lucky for me there was no line and I could just walk up to the young girl tidying up her working space. Should I just tell about the coffee to her or...?

"Hey." The girl looked up startled and then smiled the same kind of customer service smile that about every single employee had. "Um, is it possible to talk to that other waiter? The blond guy?"

The girl looked confused. I chuckled.

"I kind of forgot to pay for my coffee that he brought so I thought he might remember me."

"Oh, okay," the girl said, batting her make-up filled lashes. "Just a minute, please."

I swayed back and forth on my feet as the girl leaned against the counter and looked somewhere behind me. I tried to sneak a look over my shoulder but a fear of looking too curious made me keep my eyes on different bagels in display. My stomach churned, reminding me I hadn't eaten a thing since I left Uni many hours ago. Had it even been worth it? My thoughts went back to the guy and second-hand embarrassment flushed my cheeks with red.

Yeah, well, it hadn't. Six dates to go... if I even survived that long.

"Basil! Come here for a minute."

I only looked up when I heard familiar smooth voice answering nearby. The guy was looking at his co-worker expectantly and when she nodded towards me I was suddenly looking at green eyes once again. His lips quirked into a smile that was happier than the girl's but some people just were more natural at smiling than others. I tried one of my own just out of politeness.

"And what can I do for you, sir."

I blushed a little at sir but decided not to comment on it. I simply laughed, rubbing my neck and kept my eyes on his like a proper person.

"I was just thinking about that coffee..."

"Was it bad?" he cut in and my eyes widened. Hastily I shook my head because it'd been completely opposite. His eyes smiled at my reaction and I looked quickly down just to ease the tension that was growing because of my stupid answers.

"Then there's nothing wrong, right?"

I shrugged. "Well, I didn't order it so..." He moved to the other side of the counter, ushering the unenthusiastic girl to take orders from customers. My eyes followed as his hands started to scrub the spilled beverage instead. "Err, so I think you gave it to me by mistake and I still drank it so I need to pay for it and..."

"No, no! It wasn't a mistake."

I blinked. "Oh?"

He continued cleaning for a while but as he sensed I still hadn't left he rose his gaze to me with a curious smile. "If you really need to know one pretty girl asked me to bring it to you but was too shy so asked me not to mention her."

"Oh." My eyes started to dart around the coffee house as if the girl still would be there. A snort from the waiter made me stop, though.

"She left already."

I smiled shyly. It felt nice to think that someone had given me something for free just because they found me good looking, even if it was from a girl. To be honest, girls sounded much better at the moment than guys thanks to my latest dating experience. Usually it was other way around because I was horribly awkward with girls and boys just sat better with me. But the coffee had been really nice and exactly what I needed. Too bad that girl wasn't present anymore so I could have thanked her.

"Funny, I thought this was something that happened only in bars," I mused quietly.

"Yeah?" The guy leaned in, staring me in the eye. I couldn't help but smile back at the amused glint in his eyes. "Actually, I've seen some of these cases even in here. Though, here it's meant to be a nice thought rather than an attempt to bed someone."

Laughter bubble from my throat without warning and the smile the guy was giving me told he'd found the sound funny. I looked quickly to the roof because suddenly the waiter's proximity felt a little bit too intimidating. When I heard shuffling and found out the guy had backed up I was able to look down again. Scratching my head I backed away too.

"Okay, thanks for telling me." I nodded and stuffed my hands into the pockets.

The waiter smiled back and saluted. With that I turned around, feeling a little better. Maybe I wasn't a lost case, after all. Maybe I had just met wrong people because even though my answers still weren't the best the waiter guy hadn't seemed to be bothered by it. And someone had given me coffee too! That told you something, right?

For once the biting frost didn't feel bad on my face as I walked down the busy streets. Also, I almost didn't feel repulsive as the yesterday's false teeth guy called me again and I finally blocked his number.

I just hoped the next date would be the right one or I'd be the one living the next month miserably.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided it's a good idea to get the first three chapters up quickly and after that start the once a week schedule. Enjoy~

The next date wasn’t the right one either and it didn’t seem like the sixth didn’t make it to be my prince charming either, I sighed as I read the message I had just received from my date. The one that had just said he was going to the toilet and be right back. Yeah, sure, maybe he’d went to the toilet that located couple of miles away from me and my favourite café.

_Sorry, Finn. You are a really sweet guy but I don’t really like the way you smell._

I resisted for couple of seconds but finally smelled my sweater. I hadn’t even thought I could smell repulsive. But hey, everyone had their own personal smell, right? And I’d even read somewhere that smell was one factor that drew people to each other. Like it was one way to find your partner. It just meant that I and today’s guy weren’t meant to be.

But what if I smelled bad? I looked behind me where a happy couple was talking, oblivious of my turmoil. Did they smell me too?

I exited from the message and almost threw the phone to the table. He’d left the bill for me too. Or maybe it’d been my own fault, maybe I’d just been naïve when I offered to pay for his tea and apple pie piece when he’d looked horrified of the price.

Whatever.

It was possible only for me to be dumbed during the date through a Whatsapp message.

I was so done, who cared about some stupid bet anyway. This thing was bringing down both my mood and self-confidence and it wasn’t cool. Not cool at all. That Jackson… he hadn’t even answered my call yesterday, probably knowing how irritated I was and trying to avoid me altogether. Jerk.

Standing up from the creaking chair I made my way to the counter, deciding I needed a new load of black coffee to survive this hell.

I stated my order, not even looking up. I knew I was acting like an ass but who did it hurt to act that way only for once? They couldn’t expect me to be all rainbows and sun shines every day, right? If they did then it sucked to be them because they happened to be those I-know-what-kind-of-person-you-are-from-the-first-glance kind of guys and they could all just go and drown themselves.

Not really but I could just apologize everyone I had offended inside my mind tomorrow. Or maybe next week or next month when all this was finally over and my mood hopefully back to normal.

“Sucky date, huh?”

The voice made me look up. Once I met the calming green eyes I huffed and forced out a little smile while nodding.

“You could say that.”

But now, please, don’t force me to have a small talk. Please?

The waiter guy didn’t. I blinked as his lips twisted a little, like he knew, and then continued making my order. My stomach churned and heart banged. Of course the guy just had to be nice and make me feel guilty for my shitty attitude.

For some reason I ended up following how he made everything so professionally like he’d been making coffee for years. Maybe he had, I wasn’t sure. Usually I didn’t pay attention to faces. The guy was young, though, so he couldn’t have been working there for that long unless he’d started underage.

I bit my lip as he placed the cardboard cup in front of me and stated the price. I handed him some coins and was about to leave when I noticed no one was behind me. Sometimes I got this lucky – or maybe just simply unlucky because now I couldn’t help but let my mouth take over once again.

“Do I smell?”

The guy whose name I unfortunately couldn’t remember stopped and looked at me his eyes wide. I scratched my cheek, smiling a little.

“Do you smell?” he repeated and leaned forwards, like he was unsure what to do next.

I nodded, not being able to back off now. Count on me to worry about stupid stuff some jerk had said when it probably had been only a really bad excuse. I was starting to see what a daft-waffle I’d been once again and about to pass my words as a joke when the blond mob of hair was right under my nose, itching my chin, and I heard exaggerated sniffing.

I didn’t dare to move, my face heated up and heart hammered. He was too close. So close I couldn't help but notice how he didn't have to duck his head for his nose to be next to my neck. And he was definitely smelling something.

“Yeah, you do.”

I knew it. My chin fell to my chest as I thought maybe this was why nobody wanted to date me despite my appearance but only this guy had had enough balls to tell it to my face. Or not exactly to my face since he’d sent me a message after a lie but…

“Your cologne smells nice. What brand is it?”

My head snaps up. “What?”

He smirked at me and I couldn’t take my eyes off of his lips. “I’d really like to smell this scent every day.”

I blinked because for a while it’d seemed like the guy had just winked. I shook my head and laughed. “O-Okay, that’s cool.”

Was it bad to avoid someone’s gaze just because you felt extremely uncomfortable? Too bad if it was because there was no way I was looking at him and then hallucinating some winking again. Pfft, yeah, right. Like some waiter slash bartender was actually flirting with me.

I cleared my throat and let my eyes pass quickly a smile the guy had on his lips. I wasn’t even sure if he was smiling or not. Who knew? I grabbed my scalding coffee and dashed out. I might have waved awkwardly just so I wouldn’t seem so impolite.

Manners all the way, right? Right. Just to avoid future awkwardness because I didn’t want to change my favourite café but I also didn’t want them to think I was that rude customer.

Right.

I found fast the number I’d tried to call about every day since this mess had started. If that dickhead didn’t answer now I’d hang him from his balls. I listened to the peeping from the other side, walking hastily towards the bus stop. C’mon, if he didn’t answer now…

“Heeey, buddy.”

“Don’t you buddy me, Jackson.”

“I see that the winter has made you its own little sun shine.”

“Go and jump under the train.”

“Harsh, man.”

“Yeah, well, it’s your fault for sweet talking to the drunken me. Idiot.”

I heard amused laughter from the other side of the line and for a while seriously considered about throwing the phone under the passing car just to get the same feeling as seeing Jackson under it. Only that I liked my phone and didn’t have enough money to buy a new one. Especially now that my money went to the stupid dates and their food…

“Sooo, how’s the dating going? Any hot studs, pretty ladies?”

“Oh there are plenty. They all just drool behind my door to get to my bed,” I bit back, my voice bitter. I almost growled as Jackson laughed heartily. “You dick…”

“I know you love me,” he sounded out of breath. “And I know you’re lying. So no luck?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. What about you?” He was about to answer when I cut him off. “And don’t you dare to say you’ve already gone to the second date with someone because I’m gonna kill you then.” At least I knew he hadn’t found anyone yet since he so would have called me right away just to boast about it.

“Nah, no second dates yet. But I was meeting with my seventh dude today and he was actually pretty cool. I might text him later tonight.”

Oh dear. I bit my glove and looked at the upcoming bus. My mind felt a rush of panic. “No, you don’t.”

“Oh yes I will.”

I groaned and Jackson decided it was perfect time to laugh at me once more. One of these days I’d make it so he could never laugh again. I would have started my own grim and violent thoughts but this was Jackson I was talking about and he was an ass. No guilt was needed there.

But in the end I was such a great friend. “So, how is he?”

“Hmm, he has a good sense of humour, chocolate brown eyes and red hair, couple of piercings and his lips curl cutely when he smiles.”

“Wow, sounds like exactly your type of man,” I chuckle, stepping into the warmth of the bus. I welcomed the change in temperature with open arms and almost groaned in bliss as my butt hit a warm seat. It’s my own fault for wearing such skinny jeans in the middle of the winter but what can you do when you’re a fashion freak who swore to the name of skinny jeans.

“He is,” Jackson agreed fast and I knew I was losing to him badly. “But he has couple of minus points, too. Like, he makes slurping sounds when he drinks. And he likes as scary stuff as you.”

“Hey! What’s wrong with scary stuff?”

“Oh, c’mon, man. I love you and all but you can’t deny those horror movies and games of yours aren’t just the most disgusting thing on earth.”

“And you’re too wimpy to appreciate them.”

We fell into a comfortable silence and I closed my eyes. I hummed for a while and let out a soft chuckle.

“You know, I bet that one waiter flirted with me today.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah, and couple of days ago one girl bought me coffee.”

“Well, aren’t you a mister popular,” he laughed. “But sorry, man. Rules said Tinder date so if you end up dating either of them you still won’t win. Unless you have a proof you’ve talked on Tinder.”

I couched and flushed. “What the… I’m not going to date them or anything… I just said it to show you I’m not a total loser,” I muttered, leaning my forehead against the cool window.

“Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“I wonder why I even called you.”

“Well, it’s obviously because you want to make ou—,“ The rest of Jackson’s sentence disappeared into the empty air as I drew the phone away from my ear and cut the line off. Despite everything I couldn’t help but smile a little. Wasn’t I lucky to have a best friend who understood me and didn’t think I was just some cute neighbourhood boy? Also, it was lucky that my best friend liked guys so it was easy to be open about my sexuality with him. Now the only thing I was missing was his support for me to find a great partner because that was exactly what I was going to do even if I couldn’t do it through this bet. Jackson had pretty much already won the freaking thing since he was going to text that man and the only texts I had gotten back were about precious heirlooms and my smell.

I swirled my phone between my fingers for couple of seconds and decided to open the app I’d been obsessed about during the past week. I already hated that little flame icon but at the same time it brought a pulsating feeling into my chest. Somehow the bet felt like an adventure because every time I saw a picture of a cute guy and occasionally a cute girl and swiped right I couldn’t wait to see if they found me attractive.

Only thing was if they could just like me for myself and not think they knew everything about me through my profile picture or bio.

There were couple of messages that I started to read and each of them started with a simple “hi”. I rolled my eyes. After thirty “hi” messages you get pretty bored with them because how do you even answer? I wanted a good conversation, not some random exchange on pleasantries.

But since it seemed my only options started with “hi” I decided to pick the hottest “hi” of them all. Let’s see if that would give me the love of my life.


	3. Chapter 3

Sometimes I wondered if I had hit my head as a child or if I simply lacked common sense. Or pride. Maybe I didn’t love myself. Or actually, maybe everyone were right about me and I was just reassuring my poor ass that I was a though thing – maybe, just maybe, I was way too nice, after all.

Whatever the truth was it didn’t change the fact that I had stood in the cold winter night waiting for my date just to figure out he wasn’t going to show up. It didn’t change it that I’d watched longingly as happy couples passed me and entered the warmth of the café. It didn’t change my idiocy, my brilliant idea to just wait for an hour because maybe I had gotten the time wrong and we’d meant to meet up at six instead of five.

I only gave up as my nose started to run and I couldn’t be sure if my toes had fallen off.

When I expected the warm inside air to hit me like a heater but felt only coldness on my skin I knew I needed to stop to be so damn desperate. Idiot. After twenty minutes it’d been clear my date wasn’t going to show up since he hadn’t answered the text I’d sent him yet I still had had this stupid spark of hope in me. He’d been hot and I thought we’d had fun talking last night on Tinder.

I sighed and shivered as I sat down next to the window. I brushed off the snow that had started to flutter down about ten minutes ago covering even me under the white. I tried to blow air into my numb hands, only stopping to worry my lip. If I had a bottom lip after the tenth date I’d be lucky.

I knew I was supposed to order something so I could sit there. The café had a policy of not allowing freeloaders to sit around without paying for anything and I was being pretty much that. A freeloader who’d been stood up by his date and gotten frostbitten in return.

Guess I should call to Jackson to ask if this could even be considered as the seventh date. Deep inside I really didn’t care.

“Is this place free?”

It took me a good second to recognize the voice. But when I did I looked up with a smile which came surprisingly easy. The blond waiter looked down at me curiously, a tea cup in his other hand and a sandwich in another. I nodded and followed the guy’s movements behind my palms that I still tried to warm up. They were starting to redden and prickle a little. Thank god.

He didn’t say anything else, simply started to chew on his food and look out to the snowing scenery. I kept my eyes on him. His blond hair was messy as usual but I knew it was meant to be that way. It didn’t look like he’d done nothing to it either. His green eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze found something interesting in the distance. Then they wrinkled up, like he was laughing inside. There was a slight stubble on his strong chin but it was very light, like it wasn’t even there. Just like his hair. My eyes moved lower which I realized must have been the first time. Warmth swarmed inside my abdomen and I had to tear my eyes off of his chest.

Who knew waiters could be so well built. The gay side of me was doing a happy dance and I knew the only way to stop it was to bang my head against a wall. Not that head. Jesus. But the head on my shoulders with which I hopefully still made intelligent decisions.

For a while I wondered if the guy was single but then I remembered I didn’t even know his name and I wasn’t supposed to hit on the workers of my favourite hanging spot. Not especially when I decided to notice only now that his face wasn’t so bad, pretty handsome actually. And I kind of liked the way he smiled. But could someone blame me? I was so used to seeing the black t-shirt and the dark red apron the waiters used in the café that I hadn’t even thought about looking at him any better. Now my eyes decided it was a great opportunity to do some research.

Yeah, it was better to keep looking outside too.

“So, you going to have a date today too?” I heard him ask and couldn’t stop my cheeks from flushing. It was the first warmth I had felt since entering the café from the freezing cold. Good to know my blood hadn’t frozen in my veins.

I coughed. So even a waiter in a freaking café knew I had many dates. And I could only blame myself for bringing them all into one place. “I guess not,” I muttered, taking off my jacket.

The boy hummed and sipped his coffee. “Sounds like a jerk.”

Maybe laughing awkwardly would make the embarrassment go away. Yep, the guy was a jerk but what did it say about me then?

“I’m an idiot for actually waiting for him.”

“Hey,” he said. My eyes snapped to him like they’d been ordered to. The steadiness of his voice told me I wanted to watch him. That I actually wanted to listen to him. My eyes widened a little at how serious his face was as he looked at me, his thin lips set in a stern line. “It doesn’t make you an idiot. You two had made a promise to meet up and he didn’t even tell you he wasn’t coming.” He shrugged. “Or at least I don’t think he did. There’s no way you would have stood out there for an hour and waited for him to drag his ass to his own date. He’s an idiot, not you.”

“O-Oh…” I intervened my fingers, played with my thumbs but couldn’t take my eyes off of the guy who was so sure that what I had done was okay. My lips twitched into a hesitant smile. “Thanks. I guess.” And I had no idea why he was saying it all.

I didn’t question him, though. I was selfish. I wanted to hang on his words and feel good for once because the guy I didn’t even know said things that made my heart beat a little faster, making me feel warm and just okay.

The guy nodded contently and finally smiled. “By the way, I’m Basil.”

Basil. I grinned back and took his hand. My hand got back its senses, sending shivers up my arm. “Finn.”

“So, Finn, you on some reality TV-show or what’s with all these dates?” Basil flashed a grin like he hadn’t just asked something personal.

I avoided to look any part of him, burying half of my mouth into my palm and muttering into it. “It’s just… no, I’m not… you know… a bet.” I waited for a while for any kind of reaction but when there was none I looked up with a sigh and met amused eyes. I shook my head, quirking a brow. “I don’t usually do this kind of thing so often but me and my best friend have a bet.”

It was Basil’s time to raise a brow. “A bet? Sounds like fun.”

“Believe me, it’s not. We have to go to ten dates and if one of us finds a partner from those ten people then the loser one will be a personal bitch for another for a month.”

“And how’s it going so far?”

I bet he was asking it out of politeness, he’d been there to see it all if he’d just paid enough attention. I kind of hoped he hadn’t. “Well, I’m still trying to decide from two.”

He quirked a brow.

“What do you think? A girl who could actually be great in bed but meanwhile destroy my game controller with some seriously perverted stuff or a guy who wants to bring his granny’s teeth into some bite game?”

Basil burst into a laugh. His voice boomed inside the café happily and so loud that I tried to wave him to stop after couple of seconds of embarrassment. Some heads turned to us while I turned beat red and waved at them calmingly. A look one guy was giving to me made me think he’d heard more than I was comfortable with.

“It’s not funny!”

“Oh, yes, it is. At least a little.” When he saw my face he continued, “Even a little, little, little bit,” shrinking the size of his amusement with his index finger and thumb. I tried to stare hard at him, narrow my eyes, but my eyes kept disappearing to his smiling lips and I found myself laughing with him. Okay, maybe it was at least a little, little funny. Just a little. For some reason I was able to ignore the whispers the people behind me were saying about us and I felt like thanking today’s supposed-to-be-date for not showing up.

“My vote’s on the teeth guy,” Basil finally said, breathing heavily. I shook my head but still smiled. I looked as the green in his eyes dancing in artificial light. I felt my churning self-hating thoughts in my stomach calm down for the first time in the evening.

“Well, lucky for me that person didn’t come because it left me a vacant place to sit. As you can see every other seat is already taken.”

I looked behind me and saw at least three table with one extra seat. “Are you rubbing this situation into my face?” I let out a breathless laugh as Basil’s eyes twinkled. “It’s not my fault my date didn’t even come.”

“Of course I’m not! That wouldn’t be good customer service.”

“Customer…” I rolled my eyes. “What if you weren’t working right now?”

Basil just smiled playfully. I kicked him under the table to make him rise his hands like I was threatening him with something deadlier than my feet. I considered whether or not it was good manners for a customer to crush their skull to the table and give up.

Silence fell between us but to my surprise I was okay with it. I didn’t feel obligated to fill it with meaningless hums or awkward mentions of weather like I sometimes did with some quiet dates. Now I was simply looking at the cashier and wondering if I should get coffee before Basil decided to throw me out for freeloading. Black coffee would do some good too, maybe wake up my cold skin for good. Just as I was about to get up myself since Basil was on a brake and not to be disturbed, the guy let out a hum.

“So, you still have dates left?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” I gave him a weak smile back. His own seemed to falter a little yet I still couldn’t muster out an enthusiastic expression. “This one was supposed to be the seventh date but guess it can’t be counted now.” And I had even made time for this date. I had ditched an assignment that was supposed to be finished by day after tomorrow and now I couldn’t even count this one as a date. To be honest, I wasn’t even feeling like wanting a boyfriend or girlfriend out of this. This all felt only disastrous and made me come down a notch or two. Because apparently I wasn’t as desirable as I’d thought. I tugged the sleeves of my coat that was pretty much the only thing comforting me.

I glanced up to the blond who was munching on his sandwich with his brows furrowed. My lip tucked up a little at the sight.

“Unless I cheat a little and count this as an unsuccessful date.” Basil lifted his eyes from the table. They were wide and I couldn’t read them at all. It wasn’t that I had any kind of ability to read people’s expressions from the beginning but I kind of hoped I would have understood the reason behind his suddenly smooth expression. The frowns from before weren’t there – it actually felt like they were never there. I chuckled lightly, shrugging. “I bet my best friend wouldn’t even question it.”

Basil placed his lunch on the table slowly. For a while he did nothing but chewed and I waited. Another person’s opinion would always come in handy. Even when I only wanted him to agree with me. If he didn’t, well, I guessed I was being over the board and acting up and I should be thankful for Basil for bringing me back to the face of Earth. I was nothing special anyway.

“So you don’t actually want a boyfriend?” he asked and then added, “Or a girlfriend.”

I shrugged again. “I don’t even know anymore,” I muttered, not meeting his gaze. “I guess yeah, I do want someone because that’s the reason we’re even having this bet right now. But… you know, I don’t really believe in finding love through a dating app like Jackson does.”

His hand hesitated over the tea cup for a moment, until he finally smiled a little. “Why are you continuing this, then?”

I hummed. “Good question.” We stayed quiet for a while and I bit my tongue. Then I finally said the only thing out loud I never wanted to admit, “Maybe I’m just desperate.”

Basil grinned at me, leaning over the table. A spicy scent hit me as he got closer and looked straight into my eyes. He smelled like coffee and tea, it was like he was the café himself. It felt familiar yet still my heart beat picked up, making me lean slightly backwards and hold my breath like I was afraid of tasting the same spicy scent.

“I see no reason for you to be desperate,” he said leaning to his open palm and drawing lazy circles to the tea with his silver spoon. “I bet everyone’s ready to bow to you if you just asked them.”

I flushed, blinking couple of times too much and ending up making myself dizzy. I tried to mutter something but even I knew what I tried to say was nothing coherent without seeing the amused face Basil made. I scrunched up my nose a little and tried to concentrate.

“N-No way, dude. I don’t want anyone to bow to me.” I tried to clear my throat as Basil made a slow humming noise that felt to resonate from the depths of his throat. “I might look okay but I’m not really interesting or anything. Just boring old me.”

“Says who? You?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, me. And couple of my exes and dates. So there. And I’m not saying this to get your attention like some teenager on Facebook, you know.”

“But I think you’re interesting.” I stopped waving my hands around and then, when I saw him leaning in even further, my breath stopped. I couldn’t look away from his bright eyes, I could literally feel the way they tried to see thought me, read my deepest thoughts, and then they smiled to me. “I know you’re so much more than you let on.”

The hairs on my arms rose sending shivers of warmth through my body as I felt something click. Basil smiled at me, smiled so gently yet so slyly. There was a mix of something I couldn’t place my hand on. And I understood what he meant with his words because I felt so too.

I bet Basil was more than he let on. I could see it in his playful expressions that he wasn’t meant to be a waiter in a small local café. I could see it in his well-built body that screamed he did so much more than simply walked back and forth between the café and his home. I could feel it in his words that he hid some things that I knew I’d love to know someday because then I’d learn more about the guy that seemed to believe in me. For whatever reason that was. I just could feel it in the air that held in many promises and I wondered if I did something drastic what the outcome would be.

And then the tension broke and the air rushed into my lungs. Basil had looked away first and I wasn’t sure if I should have sighed in relief or disappointment. Instead I smiled and started to shrug my coat off. At some point it’d become hotter.

“I… I guess I’ll get that coffee now,” I chuckled, trying to sound like I wasn’t confused. I couldn’t shake off the feeling of his gaze as I stood up and smiled. I still wasn’t looking at him and I felt like berating myself for it. I was looking somewhere over his shoulder though so I didn’t look like a total loser who started to feel weird after a second of intense attention.

Yeah, talk about desperate. Basil could say whatever he wanted to make me feel better of myself but he didn’t know how I’d ended up misreading people in the moments of loneliness or rejection. He also didn’t know how many times an ex had laughed at me for mistaking his gentle gestures as an invitation to cuddle and be cute but instead learned he’d made it just to get some good sex out of me. Men and women were both sex fanatics and I was the odd one out there with my principle of not having sex often. And definitely not on couple of first dates. Maybe when I knew my partner well enough but I really had to trust them too.

So it was possible I was simply too innocent once again and thought Basil’s sudden interest in me was simply out of curiosity or because he was actually interested in me. His intense stare was most probably due to the fact he found me hot – which I knew I was, that much attention I put into my looks, after all – and I got a feeling Basil was good with his words. I’d fallen for pretty words before too so I knew too well how much it’d hurt when I found out it didn’t matter to them what I liked to do after lectures or what kind of relationship I had with my mom.

Or I was just over reacting again. One look and I was thinking something more than necessary. Basil was just nice like that, he’d seen me depressed and wanted to cheer me up by telling me what I wanted to hear.

“Black coffee, again?”

I nodded, giving him a half-smirk.

“Yeah, better get one before withdrawal hits.”

“Oh no, sounds bad.”

“You have no idea.”

And with that I headed towards the line trying to close my mind on the way. Basil was nice, that much was true, but I still didn’t know what kind of person he actually was. There were many kind of niceness; some were nice for their own advantage, some out of politeness and without the actual feeling of care and then some just were friendly and actually cared.

I was just about to sigh when someone bumped into my arm. I looked up to see Basil walk past me and glancing over his shoulder.

“See you soon.”

My eyes kept lingering his wide shoulders, firm back, light locks on the back of his nape, sure steps that led to the backroom…

If I saw dreams of Basil that night I could only blame my stupid, single brain for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello and sorry for the delay! I was really busy last week and didn't have this chapter written (what I mean is that I wasn't happy with the first draft of chapter 4 so I had to write everything from the beginning and make the previous chapter 4 the next chapter. So here we are, I wrote this one just today, finished it a minute ago and now just want to forget this thing called writing even exists. No matter how much I love it, it's a pain in the ass when when you have some kind of writer's block going on. 
> 
> Please enjoy the story!

I stared at the side profile of a man with a long nose and a half opened mouth, like he was about to say something to a person outside of a picture. His fair hair was illuminated like clear lake water in a midday Sun and his right hand was raised to push up the hood of the autumn jacket. He was walking. Towards the camera.

Basil Harrison.

245 friends, 50 pictures and a picture of a soccer field as a cover art.

It looked like he was single, openly gay, had two sisters and three brothers, liked Call of Duty, Thief and other action based games, Fast and Furious was his favorite movie alongside James Bonds, he listened to Twenty One Pilots, David Guetta and Lil Wayne, his birthday had been three weeks ago but I couldn't see how old he was now...

I had memorized all of this in a matter of minutes and I felt like the worst person on earth.

Quickly I exited Facebook and decided it'd gone too far. I was desperate, making my own assumptions of Basil's feelings, getting all hot and bothered over couple of shared looks and...

I threw the disgusting device on the sofa next to me and picked up my book closer to my nose. I saw lines, I saw letter and pictures of human brain but that was it. My mind was back in the dream where I'd been standing next to Basil and watched as the whole city burned down. He'd then taken my hand and said that it was all for me, no one would bother me ever again but then I'd woken up and for one confusing second been disappointed because there were other people alive on the Earth.

Sometimes dreams made no sense no matter what these smart psychologists said.

I sighed and reminded myself that I very well knew the dream was due to my stress and confusion. My need to belong somewhere or to someone. Yesterday's conversation with Basil hadn't helped a thing with that either. He'd been sweet, really sweet, but I still didn't know him well enough to just leap and trust him blindly. He was just a waiter at a local Café and I was his customer. The one he'd seen with many dates too so no wonder he'd acted interested. My mind made a screeching stop and I lowered my book.

What if he thought I was easy?

What if he wasn't wrong?

Shaking my head, I tried to pick up actual sentences in the book I was supposed to memorize before next week. I kind of could remember time when my studying motivation was huge, I did absolutely nothing but studied and memorized facts and got amazing grades with flying colors. And now? Now my life seemed to have taken a turn to something closer to a Harlequin book. All I could think about were dates, what to wear to them, how to act interesting and finally if I was going to be one of those sad forever-alone-and-looking-ugly cases. I didn't want to start ditch showers and wear sweat pants, I still wanted to style my hair stylishly, wear sweaters with cute and cool patterns and shiver in cold in my skinny jeans. I loved my Oakwood leather jacket I'd saved money for years and I even adored my basic Converse shoes with a flag of America in them.

Oh god, if I ended up being a sad case of a forever-single, did it mean I should also give up my Hugo Boss cologne I'd spent days to pick up from all the other scents or—

"Where's the fire, dude?"

My eyes snapped up the dramatically opened eyes, big tense body and brown messy curls I'd messed up millions times before. I frowned at Jackson as he flopped down next to me, crushing my phone under him in the process. I was just about to push him off of it when he made it a show to wiggle on his stupid bony butt.

The bastard knew what he was doing.

"There's no fire but there's a nuisance right there." I made sure to glare at the bottom side of his. That was the first mistake I made every single time.

"My dick's no nuisance. It's great!" he hopped so he was facing me, looking offended and a drama queen which didn't suit a two-meter tall guy at all.

"Yeah, yeah, it's great, you get all the cool guys etcetera, etcetera. Now move your ass or you'll be paying for my new phone."

Jackson farted and made a pleased noise.

"You're disgusting and you're buying me a new phone after that."

"Princess."

I just snorted. After a while he did the same. We both knew that wasn't true at all. I was just a fashionable man who liked to kill zombies on his free time.

"So what's up with you?" he started to pick under his butt and finally flipped my white iPhone over. "You looked like you'd seen a real freaky ghost lady or something."

"Nah." I stayed quiet for a while, trying to snatch the phone out of his hands but every time he took it further away from me. It was only the fourth time until I realized what we were even doing. I shook my head, hit him in the shoulder and took the phone out of his evil grip.

"Just thinking about dates and all."

"And being overly dramatic about it, I guess?

I grinned. "You know me, bro."

"Of course I do. If you weren't such a girl sometimes I would totally date you."

"That's disgusting."

Jackson thought for a while and then scrunched up his nose. "For once you're right."

The thing was, Jackson was like a brother to me. We went way back and since that first time we'd met at the park of the school, both of us fighting over the only free swing, we became the best of friends. It was instant and it'd felt right. That's why it was always easy to just laugh when he swung his arm over my shoulder or kissed my cheek in a friendly way. I knew I could just hit him for such disgusting behaviour and then shove a bunch of gore pictures of cannibalism to his face just to scare him off. He always came back but we never went further in our relationship and that was more than alright.

He was my family and I was his. We were bros who hang out together watching some good porn or ice hockey or killed enemies together but we also talked about stupid shit like feelings and dating. I knew he liked these badass type of bad boys and he knew I was looking for a perfect emotional connection.

That's why I didn't even hesitate to say the next words even when we were in public and he'd only make stupid comments out of it. "I'm just scared, you know."

He raised his thick brow but not in a mocking way. "You? Scared?"

"Yeah, me." I rolled my eyes but then my faint smile faltered away. I looked at the psychology book on my lap and started to pick on the corners of the pages. "It looks like she's still affecting me."

I couldn't see the face Jackson was making but the silence told me enough. Jackson was rarely silent but always when I mentioned her he became someone not far from a scary bodyguard.

It was kind of cute and annoying at the same time. It made me remember how I wasn't a proper man, how weak I actually was, how easily such anger even came to my best friend but not me, how I always ended up being the naïve and—

Jackson kicked the table and I flinched. A heat pushed up my neck right away and I looked away, trying to smile the reaction off. I always did that. Pathetic.

Jackson didn't notice and I felt my body relax a notch. A quick glance behind me to the people who wandered the lounge of the University's main building told me Jackson's sudden movement had piqued their interests too. They tried to look away, though, as they saw me noticing them. On the other hand an angry looking receptionist didn't bother to avert his eyes of us.

"I swear to god that—" I quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and hushed. He gritted his teeth, a vain pulsing on his jaw, but leaned heavily back and grunted in frustration. I smiled at him a little, trying my best to keep it up and happy. It was already four months. I was supposed to be happy already.

Pathetic.

Naïve.

Easily manipulated with pretty words.

I didn't know Basil. He could've been seriously anything.

But... I closed my eyes as my mind entered a state where I could feel the intensity of his stare like he was right there next to me. I opened them to see Jackson looking at me with an expression I regretted bringing up to him and leaned in to say,

"You know what, it's nothing." He narrowed his eyes. "You're right when you said I need to just let go and forget and do whatever the hell I want. I want a partner. I want to grow old with someone so I just need to get a little braver and—" Someone sat opposite to us to the other sofa and started to read a newspaper paying no attention to us. I glanced at his blond hair for a while, trying not to make connection to that one person who'd made way too huge impact on me, and lowered my voice just in case.

"I know I'm being difficult right now especially when it wasn't even that big a deal in the first place." I laughed a little at the worry in his dark eyes. "You should be proud of yourself for saying something so cool for once. It might be the last time too."

"Hey!"

I snickered and poked him to the side. Jackson slapped my hand off, looking like a death for a while until he finally snorted at the weird face I was making at him. I cheered for myself for doing such a good job.

"Okay, now that we've stopped crying like babies..." he snatched my phone back and opened it, knowing my passcode and all. I just stared at him doing his job. He opened the app with a flame icon and I flopped my head back.

"Dude, I don't know," I started but he rose his hand in the air.

"No more, my young apprentice!" I rolled my eyes. "I shall find you your perfect spouse in a matter of minutes."

"You know such hard words? Like, really?"

"You shall fuck off now, you peasant."

"Just do it, please."

He looked at the first guy for a second and then swiped left, dismissing the guy with a 'nah'. The second one he observed a second longer, even opened the bio but pressed the X once again. I looked at the next guy with black hair, dark skin and a nice smile. He was swept left right away.

"He looked like a nice guy."

Jackson gave me a hard look. "No offence, Finn, but you're a bad judge of character. Seriously super bad."

"Oh. Yeah."

Jackson looked at the picture of a red headed girl. "Damn, if she was a guy, I'd totally date her." Then he dismissed her too. I sighed and let him do the thing. After couple of minutes of staring at the roof I felt myself start fidgeting.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and continued reading a surprisingly long bio of a thirty-something man but in the end shook his head. "But I will once I find them."

"Sure," I sighed and was just about to flop back when I heard a voice.

"Jackie!"

I blinked and saw a fiery haired man who had to be taller than Jackson to lift his hand slightly. He was looking at us. No, looking at Jackson. And calling him Jackie.

I grinned at Jackson who punched me in the side before I even had time to say anything.

"That's your guy?" I asked instead, returning my gaze to the man whose name I didn't even know. He was wearing a leather jacket and emo style clothes underneath it with lots of chains and shiny objects. His hair was cropped too, not to forget his eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner. Definitely Jackson's type.

"Yup, he's great, isn't he?" I nodded at him. "And fucking awesome in bed. You should come and see someti—"

"No thanks, now go, please."

He smiled and whined, "But your destined lover!"

"I don't care. Just take your ugly face off of me."

He snorted and gave me a wet kiss on the cheek. I made sure he felt all the daggers in his back as he walked to his suspicious looking new boyfriend. If they even where boyfriends yet. Well, Jackson hadn't said anything about winning yet so I guessed they were still just doing it. He better hurry up and make it official so I could get rid of this pain in the ass bet too.

I swiped the saliva off of my face and tried to keep a gag in.

"Finn?"

It seemed like everyone wanted something with me that day. It was okay, I liked people. But this exact person I wasn't so sure about at that moment. I raised my eyes to the shorter man shyly. I gave him a wary smile, suddenly feeling exposed under his calculating stare. Basil was clearing his throat as he glanced behind himself and finally flashed me a smile I hadn't even noticed I'd been waiting for. My heart calmed down finally and I found it surprisingly easy to just smile back.

"What's up?" He looked between me and the guy who was still sitting opposite to me. I glanced at the other guy too, completely forgetting he was sitting there and seeing and hearing it all, and quickly ducked my head as I met his weirded out face.

Yeah, he'd seen enough. Heard something not good for strangers. Seen Jackson. Seeing Jackson in his whole huge glory was usually enough to make everyone back away. Usually it was hilarious but today I felt a little unsure about everything.

Especially when Basil sat next to the guy and said to him, "You've been picking on him or something?" The other blond finally took his eyes off of me and looked at Basil like there was nothing more boring than him.

"What if I'd been?"

I blinked and raised a brow. Basil's eyes narrowed. I blinked again and tried to make a connection between them. Somehow they looked a little alike. Maybe they were family?

Who knew but they definitely knew each other. That made the color drain out of my face as I tried to remember what me and Jackson had been talking about. What had we done? What if the stranger told something to Basil and Basil got the wrong idea and started to look at me like I was some easy guy who simply flirted with anyone because sometimes the way I spoke to Jackson might have reminded flirting and...

I took a deep breath and told my heart to shut the fuck up. I wasn't up to having a heart attack.

I started to straighten out a collar of a black button up shirt I was wearing underneath a sapphire blue sweater with tiny dots. I was looking good, I knew it. Still I felt like touching my face and making my freckles disappear – like that would even work.

It'd gone quiet without me even noticing, so when the odd atmosphere finally hit me I looked up to see both of them looking at me with weird expressions. The stranger had said something weird, hadn't he? The way Basil let his eyes scan me from head to toe made me fidgety and my leg started to bounce without my permission. The other blond on the other hand started to look back and forth between us, thinking who knew what. I tapped the screen of my phone and cleared my throat.

"So, what brings you here?" I looked at the deep green, trying not to let it intimidate me like I had just yesterday. Basil hummed a little and finally flashed the happy smile I was used to seeing.

"Just came to pick up my brother." He nodded to the guy next to him who was now smiling too. My eyes widened. I was so blind sometimes because now that I knew I was able to make the connection right away. Even their smiles were so similar.

"I'm Ben, nice to meet ya, Finn. This kid is a pain in the ass, isn't he?" The laugher bubbled out of my mouth as I watched Ben slamming his palm to Basil's back, making him growl in a very un-Basil like way. I felt like I was seeing a completely new side of Basil, I didn't even know he could show any other emotions than amusement.

It was relieving to know that he wasn't such a superior being after all. It made him a little more trustworthy. More humane.

Basil pushed his brother away, rolling his eyes to me. "This is where you study?"

"Yeah, for the third year, actually", I said and opened and closed my phone screen. "I'm into psychology and stuff."

A future psychologist who couldn't even read other people's expressions. I should just change the career.

"If you're here now that means no dates today?"

My smile tightened a little but I tried to shrug it off. "Yeah, wasn't really up to it after yesterday."

Basil just hummed and a silence fell between us. Only a napping of me shoes echoed ominously as I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing.

"Dates?" The silence was broken by Ben who was now staring at my phone. I bit my lip but wasn't surprise he was making a connection.

"Finn has some kind of bet going on with his friend," Basil explained for me and I simply nodded. Ben chuckled a little and didn't take his eyes off of the screen.

"So you're a bad judge of character, huh?" Ben's eyes twinkled as I stiffened. I held in a groan and leaned slowly back against the cushions. It was Basil's turn to eye the both of us.

I muttered some kind of agreement.

"How about you date this idiot here?"

_Excuse me?_

I couldn't stop myself in time when my mouth opened with a sick click. I stared at Ben who was gesturing at the sheepishly grinning Basil. My eyes moved to the other guy. He was smiling at me, laughing at my expression and saying, "Date me if you dare. I bite pretty hard." My chin started to dully ache as his words repeated in my mind. _Bite_. He bites.

I said nothing. I couldn't. He was serious, wasn't he? He wanted us to date? I looked at him, saw how he looked like a funny guy to date, like someone who I could love forever. I didn't know him but his warm eyes and the dimples on his cheeks, his everything felt safe.

It was safe, wasn't it? It had to be.

Basil's smile started to fall, his usually confident eyes turn even more sheepish as he laughed a little. "He was just joking. Don't take him seriously."

My mouth shut with a snap and keeping an eye contact started to feel like a hard task. It was easier to stare at the floor, look as that tiny little hope in my sunk through it and disappeared with a numb ache in my stomach. Sometimes my mind wandered, sometimes I made idiotic assumptions, sometimes I thought I never learnt. I never did, huh? I exhaled loudly and nodded. "Okay, yeah. Totally knew it. Just... just been a while someone'd said they want to date me."

"Finn..."

I snapped my head up so quickly that my neck hurt and Basil jumped back. I saw from the corner of my eye how Ben was hiding behind his hands, not making a move. I didn't know what make out of that, I just kept myself not forming stupid hopeless thoughts again. Basil looked guilty, ready to take everything back. Yeah, he should look guilty. That was pretty low thing to do to make me believe he'd been serious. I flashed him a quick smile and tapped my knee.

"Finn, I didn't mean it like that."

I shrugged, ignoring the dark thoughts that I'd almost forgotten for once in my life. They were back now. Saying things I'd heard way too many times from myself and others.

"Nah, it's cool. I was totally asking for it."

Ben came out of his hiding place, a vein pulsing in his temple and his eyes flashing. It still wasn't as hard to look at him as it was to see Basil right under the sight of my eyes. It still didn't stop me from stiffening when I heard Ben growl,

"Finn. How about I find you someone good with that app because it looks like I was wrong about Basil. I the end you're not the only bad judge of character here."

"Uh, I—"

"Please. I promise not to mess up this time."

I swallowed hard, my mind making confused stops when one fact became another. Basil wasn't looking at me anymore, instead he was looking somewhere in the distance, clenching his fingers together so hard his knuckles were turning white. I shifted my gaze to the older brother who was glaring at Basil, not me. So what he'd said hadn't been a joke. What Basil had said had been the truth too or just a really bad and tasteless joke. Either way it was, it still stung.

Without another thought – I couldn't think any longer – I handed my phone to Ben after opening the app and waited. And waited. I let the soft chatter of people around us lull me into a state of slumber, it was easier that way. Every time my eyes or mind tried to wander to the certain blond man I pinched my leg and forgot. I was disappointed and I couldn't hide away that feeling. Disappointed in Basil, in me, in life.

Relationships sucked.

"Aha!"

I bolted straight up, walking next to victoriously grinning Ben. My eyes glanced quickly to Basil who looked at me exactly same time. A second lasted. My eyes found their safe spot on my phone and the picture of a very handsome man with dark hair, tanned skin and a face that screamed hotter and older than I was used to. I shifted nervously, unsure how to react.

The man looked amazing.

He looked stylish and sophisticated.

I was stylish but I was someone who rather spent their time watching people scream in terror than having an adult like conversation with other boring people at a dinner party.

"He-he looks nice."

"Doesn't he," Ben smirked at me, opening the bio. "And he sounds nice too. Listen, he likes movies, cuddling with his lover under a blanket while drinking hot chocolate, walking out in the nature and photography."

"Well, I like movies?" I suggested, peaking at the blond next to Ben to whom I was actually supposed to concentrate on. The green eyes were clued on the picture, not giving me any attention. Somehow it was harder to rid my eyes off of him when I knew he wasn't seeing me looking.

"That's the start. Now let's see if he's into you too."

I actually held my breath as his finger did a swipe to right. For couple of silent seconds I thought we weren't a match after all and felt a heavy weight being lifted from my shoulders. But then it came. It was there. We matched. Me and Hans the Handsome Guy With Nothing in Common With Me were a perfect match according to Tinder and I slumped forward. Well then.

"It looks like a date, huh?" Ben elbowed me, a leer in his eyes when he glanced at Basil. I just smiled, trying to look like I was at least a little excited.

"I can't wait?" My grin felt so painful it was a wonder Ben didn't notice a thing. Maybe he was just as blind as I was sometimes, maybe even blinder. I gave up pretending, it wasn't like either of them were looking at me anyway. I just took my phone back and with a heavy sigh started to type the first message.

**Author's Note:**

> So got any criticism? Any ideas how to improve my writing, any spelling errors found or maybe just some awkward sentences that seemed to need some fixing? Please tell me or just leave a simple comment with a hi :D I'd be happy to have even that!


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